The best laid plans of mice and men…

Entries Tagged as 'History'

It was the de facto motto of the United States until 1956 when the United States Congress pass HJ Resolution 396 adopting “In God We Trust” as the official motto (the same congress that added “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance in reaction to the “godless” communists).

January 24, 1848 when gold was found by James W Marshall at Sutter’s Mill in Colma California the California Gold Rush was born — it’s the 163rd anniversary today (that’s a prime number, so it’s as special as any other anniversary).

The attack on Pearl Harbor (called the Hawaii Operation or Operation Z by the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters, and the Battle of Pearl Harbor by some Americans) was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on the morning of December 7, 1941. The attack was intended as a preventive action in order to keep the U.S. Pacific Fleet from influencing the war that the Empire of Japan was planning in Southeast Asia, against Britain and the Netherlands, as well as the U.S. in the Philippines. The base was attacked by 353 Japanese aircraft in two waves, launched from six aircraft carriers. Four U.S. Navy battleships were sunk (two of which were raised and returned to service later in the war) and the four other battleships present were damaged. The Japanese also sank or damaged three cruisers, three destroyers, an anti-aircraft training ship and one minelayer. 188 U.S. aircraft were destroyed, 2,402 personnel were killed[9] and 1,282 were wounded. The power station, shipyard, maintenance, and fuel and torpedo storage facilities, as well as the submarine piers and headquarters building (also home of the intelligence section) were not attacked. Japanese losses were light, with 29 aircraft and five midget submarines lost, and 65 servicemen killed or wounded. One Japanese sailor was captured.

The attack came as a profound shock to the American people and led directly to the United States entry into World War II in both the Pacific and European theaters. The following day ( December 8 ) the United States declared war on Japan. Domestic support for isolationism, which had been strong, disappeared. Clandestine support of Britain (for example the Neutrality Patrol) was replaced by active alliance and full participation in the European Theater. Subsequent operations by the U.S., as well as the Axis alliance, prompted Germany and Italy to declare war on the U.S. on December 11, which was reciprocated by the U.S. the same day.

Despite numerous historical precedents for unannounced military action, the lack of any formal warning by Japan, particularly while negotiations were still apparently ongoing, led to President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaiming December 7, 1941, “a date which will live in infamy”.

Apparently Sarah Palin took an opportunity to display her knowledge of both American history and American literature in New England while talking to reporters — referring to Paul Revere she said:

warned the British that they weren’t going to be taking away our arms by ringing those bells and making sure as he’s riding his horse through town to send those warning shots and bells that we were going to be secure and we were going to be free.

Following that on Fox News she continued on the previous topic with:

You know what? I didn’t mess up about Paul Revere. Here is what Paul Revere did. He warned the Americans that the British were coming, the British were coming, and they were going to try to take our arms and we got to make sure that we were protecting ourselves and shoring up all of ammunitions and our firearms so that they couldn’t take it.

But remember that the British had already been there, many soldiers for seven years in that area. And part of Paul Revere’s ride — and it wasn’t just one ride — he was a courier, he was a messenger. Part of his ride was to warn the British that we’re already there. That, hey, you’re not going to succeed. You’re not going to take American arms. You are not going to beat our own well-armed persons, individual, private militia that we have. He did warn the British. And in a shout-out, gotcha type of question that was asked of me, I answered candidly. And I know my American history.

You can read for yourself a letter from Paul Revere himself provided by the Massachusetts Historical Society.

Having a little leisure, I wish to fullfill my
promise, of giving you some facts, and Anecdotes, prior to
the Battle of Lexington, which I do not remember to have seen
in any history of the American Revolution.

In the year 1773 I was imployed by the Select men of the
Town of Boston to carry the Account of the Destruction of the
Tea to New-York; and afterwards, 1774, to Carry their dispatches to
New-York and Philadelphia for Calling a Congress; and afterwards to
Congress, several times.* [This asterisk points to a note in the left margin written by Jeremy Belknap: “Let the narrative begin here.” ] In the Fall of 1774 & Winter of 1775 I was
one of upwards of thirty, cheifly mechanics, who formed our selves in to a Committee
for the purpose of watching the Movements of the British Soldiers,
and gaining every intelegence of the movements of the Tories. We
held our meetings at the Green-Dragon Tavern. We were so carefull that
our meetings should be kept Secret; that every time we met, every
person swore upon the Bible, that they would not discover any of
our transactions, But to Messrs. Hancock, Adams, Doctors Warren, Church,
& one or two more. About November, when things began to grow
Serious, a Gentleman who had Conections with the Tory party, but was
a Whig at heart, aquainted me, that our meetings were discovered, &
mentioned the identical words that were spoken among us the Night
before. We did not then distrust Dr. Church, but supposed it must be
some one among us. We removed to another place, which we
thought was more secure: but here we found that all our transactions
were communicated to Governor Gage. (This came to me through the
then Secretary Flucker; He told it to the Gentleman mentioned above). It was
then a common opinion, that there was a Traytor in the provincial Con
gress, & that Gage was posessed of all their Secrets. (Church was a member
of that Congress for Boston.) In the Winter, towards the Spring, we fre-
quently took Turns, two and two, to Watch the Soldiers, By patroling
the Streets all night. The Saturday Night preceding the 19th of April, about 12
oClock at Night, the Boats belonging to the Transports were all
launched, & carried under the Sterns of the Men of War. (They had been
previously hauld up & repaired). We likewise found that the Grenadiers
and light Infantry were all taken off duty.

· Page 2

From these movements, we expected something serious was [to]
be transacted. On Tuesday evening, the 18th, it was observed, that a number
of Soldiers were marching towards the bottom of the Common.
About 10 o’Clock, Dr. Warren Sent in great haste for me, and beged
that I would imediately Set off for Lexington, where Messrs. Hancock
& Adams were, and acquaint them of the Movement, and that it was
thought they were the objets. When I got to Dr. Warren’s house, I found
he had sent an express by land to Lexington – a Mr. Wm. Daws.
The Sunday before, by desire of Dr. Warren, I had been to Lexington, to Mess. Hancock and Adams, who were at the Rev. Mr. Clark’s. I returned
at Night thro Charlestown; there I agreed with a Col. Conant, & some other Gentle
men, in Charleston, that if the British went out by Water,
we would shew two Lanthorns in the North Church Steeple;
& if by Land, one, as a Signal; for we were aprehensive it would be di
ficult to Cross the Charles River, or git over Boston neck. I left Dr. Warrens, called
upon a friend, and desired him to make the Signals. I then
went Home, took my Boots and Surtout, and went to the North part of the Town, where
I had kept a Boat; two friends rowed me across Charles River,
a little to the eastward where the Somerset Man of
War lay. It was then young flood, the Ship was winding, &
the moon was Rising. They landed me on Charlestown
side. When I got into Town, I met Col. Conant, & several others;
they said they had seen our signals. I told them what was
Acting, & went to git me a Horse; I got a Horse of Deacon
Larkin. While the Horse was preparing, Richard Devens, Esq.
who was one of the Committee of Safty, came to me, & told me, that he came down the Road from
Lexington, after Sundown, that evening; that He met ten British Officers, all
well mounted, & armed, going up the Road. I set off upon a very
good Horse; it was then about 11 o’Clock, & very pleasant. After I
had passed Charlestown Neck, & got nearly opposite where Mark was
hung in chains, I saw two men on Horse back, under a Tree.
When I got near them, I discovered they were British officer.
One tryed to git a head of Me, & the other to take me. I turned
my Horse very quick, & Galloped towards Charlestown neck,
and then pushed for the Medford Road. The one who chased
me, endeavoring to Cut me off, got into a Clay pond, near
where the new Tavern is now built. I got clear of him,

· Page 3

and went thro Medford, over the Bridge, & up to Menotomy.
In Medford, I awaked the Captain of the Minute men; & after
that, I alarmed almost every House, till I got to Lexington.
I found Mrs. Messrs. Hancock & Adams at the Rev. Mr. Clark’s; I told
them my errand, and inquired for Mr. Daws; they said he had
not been there; I related the story of the two officers, &
supposed that He must have been stopped, as he ought to
have been there before me. After I had been there about half
an Hour, Mr. Daws came; after we refreshid our selves, we and set off
for Concord, to secure the Stores, &c. there. We were overtaken by a young Docter Prescot,
whom we found to be a high Son of Liberty. I told them
of the ten officers that Mr. Devens mett, and that it was pro-
bable we might be stoped before we got to Concord; for
I supposed that after Night, they divided them selves, and that
two of them had fixed themselves in such passages as were
most likely to stop any intelegence going to Concord.
I likewise mentioned, that we had better allarm all the In-
habitents till we got to Concord; the young Doctor much ap-
proved of it, and said, he would stop with either of us, for the
people between that & Concord knew him, & would give the
more credit to what we said. We had got nearly half way.
Mr Daws & the Doctor stoped to allarm the people of a House:
I was about one hundred Rod a head, when I saw two men,
in nearly the same situation as those officer were, near
Charlestown. I called for the Doctor & Daws to come up; –
were two & we would have them in an Instant I was
surrounded by four; – they had placed themselves in a Straight
Road, that inclined each way; they had taken down a pair of
Barrs on the North side of the Road, & two of them were under
a tree in the pasture. The Docter being foremost, he came up;
and we tryed to git past them; but they being armed with pis-
tols & swords, they forced us in to the pasture; -the Docter jum-
ped his Horse over a low Stone wall, and got to Concord.

· Page 4

I observed a Wood at a Small distance, & made for that.
When I got there, out Started Six officers, on Horse back,
and orderd me to dismount;-one of them, who appeared
to have the command, examined me, where I came from,
& what my Name Was? I told him. it was Revere, he as-
ked if it was Paul? I told him yes He asked me if
I was an express? I answered in the afirmative. He
demanded what time I left Boston? I told him; and
aded, that their troops had catched aground in passing the River,
and that There would be five hundred Americans there
in a short time, for I had alarmed the Country all the way up.
He imediately rode towards those who stoppd us,
when all five of them came down upon a full gallop;
one of them, whom I afterwards found to be Major
Mitchel, of the 5th Regiment, Clapped his pistol to my head, called me by name,
& told me he was going to ask me some questions, & if I
did not give him true answers, he would blow my
brains out. He then asked me similar questions to those
above. He then orderd me to mount my Horse, after
searching me for arms. He then orderd them to advance,
& to lead me in front. When we got to the Road, they
turned down towards Lexington. When we had got about one
Mile, the Major Rode up to the officer that was leading
me, & told him to give me to the Sergeant. As soon as
he took me, the Major orderd him, if I attempted to
run, or any body insulted them, to blow my brains out.
We rode till we got near Lexington Meeting-house,
when the Militia fired a Voley of Guns, which ap-
peared to alarm them very much. The Major inqui-
red of me how far it was to Cambridge, and if there were
any other Road? After some consultation, the Major

· Page 5

Major Rode up to the Sargent, & asked if his Horse
was tired? He told answered him, he was – (He was a Sargent
of Grenadiers, and had a small Horse) – then, said He,
take that man’s Horse. I dismounted, & the Sargent
mounted my Horse, when they all rode towards
Lexington Meeting-House. I went across
the Burying-ground, & some pastures, & came to the Revd. Mr. Clark’s
House, where I found Messrs. Hancok & Adams. I told them of
my treatment, & they concluded to go from that House
to wards Woburn. I went with them, & a Mr. Lowell,
who was a Clerk to Mr. Hancock. When we got to the
House where they intended to stop, Mr. Lowell & I my self returned to
Mr. Clark’s, to find what was going on. When we got
there, an elderly man came in; he said he had just come from
the Tavern, that a Man had come from Boston, who said
there were no British troops coming. Mr. Lowell & my
self went towards the Tavern, when we met a Man
on a full gallop, who told us the Troops were coming
up the Rocks. We afterwards met another, who said
they were close by. Mr. Lowell asked me to go to the
Tavern with him, to a Bit a Trunk of papers belonging to Mr. Hancock. We
went up Chamber; & while we were giting the Trunk,
we saw the British very near, upon a full March.
We hurried to wards Mr. Clark’s House. In our way,
we passed through the Militia. There were about 50.
When we had got about 100 Yards from the meeting-House the British Troops
appeard on both Sides of the Meeting-House. In their

· Page 6

In their Front was an Officer on Horse back. They made a
Short Halt; when I saw, & heard, a Gun fired, which appeared
to be a Pistol. Then I could distinguish two Guns, & then
a Continual roar of Musquetry; When we made off with the Trunk.

As I have mentioned Dr. Church, perhaps it might not
be disagreeable to mention some Matters of my own
knowledge, respecting Him. He appeared to be a high
son of Liberty. He frequented all the places where they met,
Was incouraged by all the leaders of the Sons of Liberty,
& it appeared he was respected by them, though I knew that
Dr. Warren had not the greatest affection for him. He was esteemed
a very capable writer, especially in verese; and as the Whig party
needed every Strenght, they feared, as well as courted Him.
Though it was known, that some of the Liberty Songs, which We
composed, were parodized by him, in favor of the British,
yet none dare charge him with it. I was a constant &
critical observer of him, and I must say, that I never thought
Him a man of Principle; and I doubted much in my own
mind, wether He was a real Whig. I knew that He kept
company with a Capt. Price, a half-pay British officer, & that
He frequently dined with him, & Robinson, one of the Commissi
-oners. I know that one of his intimate aquaintances asked him
why he was so often with Robinson and Price? His answer was, that He kept Company
with them on purpose to find out their plans. The day after
the Battle of Lexington, I came across met him in Cambridge, when He shew
me some blood on his stocking, which he said spirted on
him from a Man who was killed near him, as he was urging
the Militia on. I well remember, that I argued with my
self, if a Man will risque his life in a Cause, he must be
a Friend to that cause; & I never suspected him after, till He was
charged with being a Traytor.

· Page 7

The same day I met Dr. Warren. He was President of the
Committee of Safety. He engaged me as a Messinger, to do
the out of doors business for that committee; which gave
me an opportunity of being frequently with them.
The Friday evening after, about sun set, I was sitting with
some, or near all that Committee, in their room, which was
at Mr. Hastings’s House at Cambridge. Dr. Church, all at once,
started up – Dr. Warren, said He, I am determined to go into
Boston tomorrow – (it set them all a stairing) – Dr. Warren
replyed, Are you serious, Dr. Church? they will Hang you
if they catch you in Boston. He replyed, I am serious, and am
determined to go at all adventures. After a considerable
conversation, Dr. Warren said, If you are determined, let us
make some business for you. They agreed that he should
go to Bit medicine for their & our Wounded officers. He
went the next morning; & I think he came back on Sunday
evening. After He had told the Committee how things were,
I took him a side, & inquired particularly how they treated
him? he said, that as soon as he got to their lines on the Boston Neck,
they made him a prisoner, & carried him to General Gage, where He
was examined, & then He was sent to Gould’s Barracks, & was
not suffered to go home but once.
After He was taken up, for holding a Correspondence with the Brittish, I came a Cross Deacon
Caleb Davis;-we entred into Conversation about Him;-He told
me, that the morning Church went into Boston, He (Davis) received
a Bilet for General Gage-(he then did not know that Church was
in Town)-When he got to the General’s House, he was told, the General
could not be spoke with, that He was in private with a Gentle
man; that He waited near half an Hour,-When General Gage &
Dr. Church came out of a Room, discoursing together, like

· Page 8

like persons who had been long aquainted. He ap
-peared to be quite surprized at seeing Deacon Davis
there; that he (Church) went where he pleased, while
in Boston, only a Major Caine, one of Gage’s Aids, went with him. I was
told by another person whom I could depend upon, that he saw Church go in to General
Gage’s House, at the above time; that He got out of the Chaise
and went up the steps more like a Man that was aquainted,
than a prisoner. Sometime after, perhaps a Year or two, I fell
in company with a Gentleman who studied with
Church -in discoursing about him, I related what I have men
tioned above; He said, He did not doubt that He was in the
Interest of the Brittish; & that it was He who informed Gen. Gage
That he knew for Certain, that a Short time before the Battle of Lexing
ton, (for He then lived with Him, & took Care of his Business & Books)
He had no money by him, and was much drove for money; that
all at once, He had several Hundred New Brittish Guineas;
and that He thought at the time, where they came from.

Thus, Sir, I have endeavoured to give you a
Short detail of some matters, of which perhaps no person but
my self have have documents, or knowledge. I have men
tioned some names which you are aquainted with: I wish
you would Ask them, if they can remember the Circumstances
I alude to.

I am, Sir, with every Sentment
of esteem,
Your Humble Servant,

Paul Revere

Or you might want to refer to the poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

Paul Revere's Ride

Listen my children and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year.

He said to his friend, “If the British march
By land or sea from the town to-night,
Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch
Of the North Church tower as a signal light,–
One if by land, and two if by sea;
And I on the opposite shore will be,
Ready to ride and spread the alarm
Through every Middlesex village and farm,
For the country folk to be up and to arm.”

Then he said “Good-night!” and with muffled oar
Silently rowed to the Charlestown shore,
Just as the moon rose over the bay,
Where swinging wide at her moorings lay
The Somerset, British man-of-war;
A phantom ship, with each mast and spar
Across the moon like a prison bar,
And a huge black hulk, that was magnified
By its own reflection in the tide.

Meanwhile, his friend through alley and street
Wanders and watches, with eager ears,
Till in the silence around him he hears
The muster of men at the barrack door,
The sound of arms, and the tramp of feet,
And the measured tread of the grenadiers,
Marching down to their boats on the shore.

Then he climbed the tower of the Old North Church,
By the wooden stairs, with stealthy tread,
To the belfry chamber overhead,
And startled the pigeons from their perch
On the sombre rafters, that round him made
Masses and moving shapes of shade,–
By the trembling ladder, steep and tall,
To the highest window in the wall,
Where he paused to listen and look down
A moment on the roofs of the town
And the moonlight flowing over all.

Beneath, in the churchyard, lay the dead,
In their night encampment on the hill,
Wrapped in silence so deep and still
That he could hear, like a sentinel’s tread,
The watchful night-wind, as it went
Creeping along from tent to tent,
And seeming to whisper, “All is well!”
A moment only he feels the spell
Of the place and the hour, and the secret dread
Of the lonely belfry and the dead;
For suddenly all his thoughts are bent
On a shadowy something far away,
Where the river widens to meet the bay,–
A line of black that bends and floats
On the rising tide like a bridge of boats.

Meanwhile, impatient to mount and ride,
Booted and spurred, with a heavy stride
On the opposite shore walked Paul Revere.
Now he patted his horse’s side,
Now he gazed at the landscape far and near,
Then, impetuous, stamped the earth,
And turned and tightened his saddle girth;
But mostly he watched with eager search
The belfry tower of the Old North Church,
As it rose above the graves on the hill,
Lonely and spectral and sombre and still.
And lo! as he looks, on the belfry’s height
A glimmer, and then a gleam of light!
He springs to the saddle, the bridle he turns,
But lingers and gazes, till full on his sight
A second lamp in the belfry burns.

A hurry of hoofs in a village street,
A shape in the moonlight, a bulk in the dark,
And beneath, from the pebbles, in passing, a spark
Struck out by a steed flying fearless and fleet;
That was all! And yet, through the gloom and the light,
The fate of a nation was riding that night;
And the spark struck out by that steed, in his flight,
Kindled the land into flame with its heat.
He has left the village and mounted the steep,
And beneath him, tranquil and broad and deep,
Is the Mystic, meeting the ocean tides;
And under the alders that skirt its edge,
Now soft on the sand, now loud on the ledge,
Is heard the tramp of his steed as he rides.

It was twelve by the village clock
When he crossed the bridge into Medford town.
He heard the crowing of the cock,
And the barking of the farmer’s dog,
And felt the damp of the river fog,
That rises after the sun goes down.

It was one by the village clock,
When he galloped into Lexington.
He saw the gilded weathercock
Swim in the moonlight as he passed,
And the meeting-house windows, black and bare,
Gaze at him with a spectral glare,
As if they already stood aghast
At the bloody work they would look upon.

It was two by the village clock,
When he came to the bridge in Concord town.
He heard the bleating of the flock,
And the twitter of birds among the trees,
And felt the breath of the morning breeze
Blowing over the meadow brown.
And one was safe and asleep in his bed
Who at the bridge would be first to fall,
Who that day would be lying dead,
Pierced by a British musket ball.

You know the rest. In the books you have read
How the British Regulars fired and fled,—
How the farmers gave them ball for ball,
>From behind each fence and farmyard wall,
Chasing the redcoats down the lane,
Then crossing the fields to emerge again
Under the trees at the turn of the road,
And only pausing to fire and load.

So through the night rode Paul Revere;
And so through the night went his cry of alarm
To every Middlesex village and farm,—
A cry of defiance, and not of fear,
A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door,
And a word that shall echo for evermore!
For, borne on the night-wind of the Past,
Through all our history, to the last,
In the hour of darkness and peril and need,
The people will waken and listen to hear
The hurrying hoof-beats of that steed,
And the midnight message of Paul Revere.
· Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882)

The global war on drugs has failed, with devastating consequences for individuals and societies around the world…

Vast expenditures on criminalization and repressive measures directed at producers, traffickers and consumers of illegal drugs have clearly failed to effectively curtail supply or consumption. Apparent victories in eliminating one source or trafficking organization are negated almost instantly by the emergence of other sources and traffickers. Repressive efforts directed at consumers impede public health measures to reduce HIV/AIDS, overdose fatalitiesand other harmful consequences of drug use. Government expenditures on futile supply reduction strategies and incarceration displace more cost-effective and evidence-based investments in demand and harm reduction.

— An end to “the criminalization, marginalization and stigmatization of people who use drugs but who do no harm to others.”

— Governments experiment “with models of legal regulation of drugs to undermine the power of organized crime and safeguard the health and security of their citizens. This recommendation applies especially to cannabis.”

— Increases in “health and treatment services [for] those in need.”

— Less focus on the arrest and imprisonment of “people involved in the lower ends of illegal drug markets, such as farmers, couriers and petty sellers. Many are themselves victims of violence and intimidation or are drug dependent. Arresting and incarcerating tens of millions of these people in recent decades has filled prisons and destroyed lives and families without reducing the availability of illicit drugs or the power of criminal organizations.”

— Less emphasis on “simplistic ‘just say no’ messages and ‘zero tolerance’ policies in favor of educational efforts grounded in credible information and prevention programs that focus on social skills and peer influences.”

— A increased focus on “violent criminal organizations, but do so in ways that undermine their power and reachwhile prioritizing the reduction of violence and intimidation. Law enforcement efforts should focus not on reducing drug markets per se but rather on reducing their harms to individuals, communities and national security.”

Members of the Global Commission on Drug Policy

— Asma Jahangir; human rights activist, former U.N. Special Rapporteur on Arbitrary, Extrajudicial and Summary Executions; Pakistan.
— Carlos Fuentes; writer; Mexico.
— Cesar Gaviria; former president of Colombia.
— Ernesto Zedillo; former president of Mexico.
— Fernando Henrique Cardoso; former president of Brazil.
— George Papandreou; Prime Minister of Greece.
— George Shultz; former secretary of state.
— Javier Solana; former European Union High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy; Spain.
— John Whitehead; banker and civil servant, chair of the World Trade Center Memorial; United States.
— Kofi Annan; former secretary general of the United Nations.
— Louise Arbour; former U.N. high commissioner for human rights; Canada.
— Maria Cattaui; member of the board, Petroplus Holdings; former secretary-general of the International Chamber of Commerce; Switzerland.
— Marion Caspers-Merk; former state secretary at the German Federal Ministry of Health, Germany.
— Mario Vargas Llosa; writer; Peru.
— Michel Kazatchkine; executive director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; France.
— Paul Volcker; former chairman of the Federal Reserve.
— Richard Branson; entrepreneur; founder of the Virgin Group; U.K.
— Ruth Dreifuss- former president of Switzerland.
— Thorvald Stoltenberg; former minister of foreign affairs and U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees; Norway.

The Pledge of Allegiance, originally first delivered in 1892 on Columbus Day to mark the Columbia Exposition (the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ arrival in the “New World”) and the version we no delivered on Flag Day in 1954 (after the insertion of “under God” by the Congress under the stewardship of Dwight D Eisenhower).

Here is the original composition by Francis Bellamy (a minister) in 1892 and formally adopted by Congress in 1942.

I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

(CNN) On this day 71 years ago — December 22, 1942 — Congress got the United States out of what had turned into an unexpectedly embarrassing situation.

It concerned the Pledge of Allegiance — specifically, something called the Bellamy Salute.

Most people today have likely never heard of it, but the Bellamy Salute was once a constant part of the country’s life.

Until 1892, there was no such thing as a Pledge of Allegiance.

Daniel Sharp Ford, the owner of a magazine called Youth’s Companion, was on a crusade to put American flags in every school in the country. He sensed that the U.S. needed a boost of patriotism. Keep in mind: Not even 30 years before, the Civil War had still been raging. National unity was a fragile concept.

As part of the campaign, Sharp gave an assignment to a member of his staff: Francis J. Bellamy, who was an author, a minister and an advocate of the tenets of Christian socialism. Sharp asked Bellamy to compose a Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. Bellamy wrote it, and it was published in the magazine.

It didn’t take long for the Pledge to become wildly popular, even omnipresent. At schools, at campgrounds, at public gatherings, in Congress, people routinely faced the flag and pledged their allegiance to it.

Because, inherently, there is something physically awkward about people simply standing in place, their arms hanging limply by their sides, staring at a flag and reciting a pledge, it was decided that devising a salute would be appropriate.

Instructions for carrying out the salute were printed in the pages of Youth’s Companion. The gesture came to be called the Bellamy Salute, in honor of the Pledge’s author.

With their right arms aiming stiffly toward the flag, they recited: “I pledge allegiance…”

For a while, the salute wasn’t especially controversial.

But, as World War II was forming in Europe, and Italians and Germans began saluting Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler with extended-armed “Heil Hitler!”-style gestures…

Well, perhaps you can see the problem.

In the United States there was a growing feeling of discomfort that, when people within the nation’s own borders pledged their right-arms-extended allegiance to the flag, they might be construed as inadvertently showing solidarity with the fascist regimes across the ocean. Richard J. Ellis, in his book “To the Flag: The Unlikely History of the Pledge of Allegiance,” wrote that “the similarities in the salute had begun to attract comment as early as the mid-1930s.”

Newsreels and still photos were regularly depicting rallies in Europe’s dictatorships, with thousands of people showing their fealty by extending straight-armed salutes. In the United States, the general unease about it — “the embarrassing resemblance between the ‘Heil Hitler’ salute and the salute that accompanied the Pledge of Allegiance,” in Richard Ellis’s words — was combined with the fear that scenes of Americans offering the Bellamy Salute could be used for propaganda purposes.

It wouldn’t be terribly difficult to crop the American flag out of photos of U.S. citizens reciting the Pledge of Allegiance; without the flag in the shots, the photos could be mischaracterized as proof that Americans were expressing support for the ideologies of Hitler and Mussolini.

Thus, on December 22, 1942, Congress, just before its Christmas break, took care of it. On that day, the amended Flag Code was passed, Section 7 of which decreed that the Pledge of Allegiance should “be rendered by standing with the right hand over the heart.”

And with that, it became official: Those millions of extended right arms were brought down. The stiff-armed salute was for other people, in countries far away.

It was purely symbolic, of course, but symbols are powerful. Over the years, there have been various disputes about the Pledge of Allegiance, the most basic of which is the question of whether citizens should even be expected to publicly pledge their allegiance to their country. The United States was founded on ideals of freedom, and freedom includes not being forced, or cajoled by peer pressure, into publicly declaring any belief.

The exact wording of the Pledge has changed several times since Francis Bellamy wrote it; each change was reflective of contemporaneous concerns about the meaning. For example: “I pledge allegiance to the flag” was originally “I pledge allegiance to my flag.” The “my” was dropped out of worries that recent arrivals from other nations might be seen as pledging their loyalty to the flag of the country of their birth.

The most significant change in the wording came in 1954, when — with the enthusiastic support of President Dwight D. Eisenhower — the phrase “under God” was added just after “one nation.” Eisenhower declared: “In this way we are reaffirming the transcendence of religious faith in America’s heritage and future; in this way we shall constantly strengthen those spiritual weapons which forever will be our country’s most powerful resource in peace and war.”

The wording of the Pledge of Allegiance may or may not be changed again in centuries to come, but it’s a pretty safe bet that the Bellamy Salute is never coming back. Once ubiquitous and unquestioned, it has become a faded and mostly forgotten bit of U.S. history.

All because, on this day 71 Decembers ago, a solution to a quandary — a quandary no one could have anticipated when the Pledge was written — was formalized: